A song written back in 2013 is only now seeing release — and the gap wasn't due to a lack of inspiration, but because he "wasn't legally able" to collaborate with other musicians. In a new interview with Loyal to the Craft, former Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg opened up in detail for the first time about this blank period.
Weinberg joined Slipknot in 2013 and left in 2023 after the band made a "creative decision" to change direction. At the time, he described himself as "heartbroken and blindsided," and earlier this year he reiterated that the decision "still remains confusing" to him. In the years since leaving, he's joined Suicidal Tendencies, recorded with Fuming Mouth, collaborated with Canadian band Softcult on the single "Drown Fountain," and formed a new band, Portraits of an Apparition, while also working on solo material.
According to Weinberg, much of this material had existed for a long time — it just couldn't be released. He mentioned that the idea for the Softcult collaboration had "been brewing since 2013," and other material had also been "stewing for years." Asked why it took so long, he referenced restrictions he'd faced around collaborating with other musicians: "Not having the legal ability to make music with other people was genuinely difficult, because for me, creating and sharing music are two sides of the same coin." He didn't specify in the interview where these restrictions came from, only noting that he knew he could collaborate "privately," but didn't have the legal right to release the work publicly.
On the emotional toll of this period, he said: "Even though I was very focused on and enjoying a certain part of my creative life at the time, part of my creative self was genuinely dying inside, because these things mean a lot to me." He added that even though a song might have started 13 years ago, he still feels genuine passion about finishing and releasing it now — "that's emotionally fulfilling for me" — and that being able to play and create with people from all kinds of backgrounds and disciplines "has always felt like a healthy thing" to him.
As for his solo work, Weinberg released "Sandstone," a collaboration with Deafheaven frontman George Clarke, last November, and has recently put out "Drone Operator" with NOWHERE2RUN (whose members come from Code Orange).
Slipknot's current drummer Eloy Casagrande revealed last fall that the band is working on new music: "We've been cooking things up — since I joined the band, we've been trading guitar riffs, drum parts, and doing some jamming too." The band's lineup has continued to shift recently, with an official confirmation on August 14 that they've parted ways with keyboardist and turntablist Sid Wilson. The statement read: "As of now, Slipknot will no longer have any association with Sid Wilson, and we wish him well in his future endeavors." Wilson, known by his stage name No. 0, joined the band in 1998, before their breakthrough into the mainstream with their self-titled album. This isn't the first lineup shakeup for Slipknot in recent years — they parted ways with longtime percussionist Chris Fehn in 2019 (Fehn later sued the band, alleging he'd gone underpaid for over 20 years), and Craig Jones, who joined in 1996, also left the band in 2023.
